The MasterCard Foundation

What The MasterCard Foundation does

The MasterCard Foundation is an independent, privately funded Canadian charitable foundation established in 2006 through a one-time gift of Mastercard common shares issued during the Mastercard initial public offering. Headquartered in Toronto, the Foundation operates more than $7 billion in assets, with an annual grant-making budget of $1.5 billion, and is governed by its own independent board of directors and senior leadership. The Foundation employs 51–100 staff and maintains regional offices in Kigali, Accra, Nairobi, Kampala, Lagos, Dakar, and Addis Ababa, with programmatic reach across more than 40 countries in Africa and coast-to-coast in Canada. It is registered as a Canadian charity under the Canada Revenue Agency and bears no operational relationship with Mastercard Incorporated beyond the historical naming gift.

The Foundation's portfolio comprises six flagship programs. Young Africa Works targets dignified employment for 30 million young Africans by 2030, with emphasis on young women, refugees, and people with disabilities. EleV targets 100,000 Indigenous youth in Canada by 2030 for post-secondary education and meaningful livelihoods. The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program has committed more than 57,000 scholarships globally. Saving Lives and Livelihoods builds vaccine manufacturing workforce capacity in Africa. The Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning drives technology-enabled education delivery, including the Baobab Platform developed with Arizona State University. The Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship supports early-stage education technology companies through partner venture platforms.

The Foundation executes its mission through a partner-delivered model rather than direct service delivery. More than 400 implementing organizations — of which 66% are African-led — operate over 1,000 programs reaching 22.9 million youth-in-work outcomes since 2017. Strategic partners include Africa CDC, Jobberman Nigeria, Ashesi University, KNUST, Arizona State University, AGRA, World Food Programme, UNCDF, iHUB Kenya, and EdVentures. Revenue is derived from returns on the endowment, managed through the wholly owned Mastercard Foundation Asset Management (MFAM) Corporation established in 2023 under Chief Investment Officer John Barker. Grant-making operates as a managed-services distribution model: the Foundation co-creates programs with partners rather than charging fees, with no commercial pricing or revenue per beneficiary.

Name

The MasterCard Foundation

Legal name

Mastercard Foundation

Website

https://mastercardfdn.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The MasterCard Foundation is a Toronto-based Canadian charitable foundation with over $7 billion in assets and a $1.5 billion annual grant-making budget. It funds education, employment, and financial inclusion programs for young people in Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada through 400+ implementing partner organizations across 40+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropic Grant-Making and Charitable Foundation Services

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Foundation/NGO & Philanthropic Scholarships (EDAIAOAH), Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB)

Keywords

• Philanthropic grant making
• Youth education programs
• Financial inclusion initiatives
• Skills development funding
• Foundation asset management

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices9 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Others, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Grants: The Foundation distributes grants and program funding to partner organizations implementing education and financial inclusion programs. Revenue comes from investment returns on the Foundation's endowment, originally established through a one-time gift of Mastercard stock in 2006.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The MasterCard Foundation is a registered Canadian charitable foundation that distributes grants and program funding to 400+ implementing partner organizations across Sub-Saharan Africa and Canada. Its core activity is enabling young people (particularly young women, refugees and displaced persons, and people with disabilities in Africa) and Indigenous youth in Canada to access education, develop skills, and transition to dignified and fulfilling work through programs such as Young Africa Works, EleV, the Scholars Program, Saving Lives and Livelihoods, and the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning.

Product overview

The MasterCard Foundation is a registered Canadian charity that operates as a philanthropic organization rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of charitable programs and initiatives focused on advancing education and financial inclusion. The Foundation's primary programmatic portfolio includes the Young Africa Works Strategy (aiming to enable 30 million young Africans to access dignified work by 2030), the EleV Program (supporting 100,000 Indigenous youth in Canada), the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, Saving Lives and Livelihoods, and the Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Additionally, the Foundation supports the EdTech Fellowship program for startups and maintains the Baobab Platform for professional development. The Foundation also established MFAM Corporation, a separate asset management entity. These programs work together through partner organizations across Africa and Canada to deliver impact at scale.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Young Africa Works: Strategy to enable 30 million young Africans, particularly women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030
• EleV
• Saving Lives and Livelihoods
• Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning
• Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
• MFAM

Products and services

• Young Africa Works Strategy The Foundation's primary strategy to enable 30 million young Africans, particularly women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030 through country-based partnerships and programming across Africa.
• EleV Program A program designed to transform education and employment systems to enable 100,000 Indigenous young people in Canada to access post-secondary education and transition to meaningful livelihoods by 2030.
• Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program A global initiative designed to develop the next generation of transformative leaders by enabling highly talented, service-oriented young people to pursue higher education and cultivate their leadership potential.
• Saving Lives and Livelihoods A program developing the workforce for vaccine manufacturing in Africa to ensure long-term health security.
• Centre for Innovative Teaching and Learning A center driving the innovative use of technology to improve access to quality education.
• Mastercard Foundation EdTech Fellowship A fellowship program providing selected EdTech startups with business support, financial support, and training linked to learning science, run in partnership with organizations such as EdVentures (Egypt) and iHUB Kenya.
• Baobab Platform A platform developed by Arizona State University in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation that provides professional development courses in Transformative Leadership, entrepreneurship, and workforce skills.
• Mastercard Foundation Asset Management (MFAM) Corporation A separate asset management company building a diversified investment portfolio to support the Foundation's philanthropic mission over the long term.

Quantifiable outcome

• 22.9 million youth-in-work since 2017
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Ashesi UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of Africa Health Collaborative Health Innovation Festival 2026, focused on training 30,000 primary healthcare workers, supporting 5,000 ventures, and creating 20,000 jobs.
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of Africa Health Collaborative Health Innovation Festival 2026 in Ghana.
• EdVentures (Venture Capital Arm of Nahdet Misr Group)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRuns the Egypt EdTech Fellowship program, now in third cohort with 36 total startups supported. Provides business support, financial support, and training linked to learning science.
• iHUB KenyacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEdTech Fellowship Kenya - graduated 12 EdTech startups in Cohort 3 (75% women-led). 36 companies supported reaching over 580,000 learners, 8,800 educators, and 2,000 schools.
• Jobberman NigeriacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYoung Africa Works implementation partner in Nigeria. Trained 3.3 million young Nigerians and placed over 1.1 million in dignified employment over six years.
• Oyo State GovernmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment partner for Easylift agricultural program disbursing N1.5 billion to young farmers.
• Africa CDCcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding the Africa CDC's first medical supplies warehouse in Addis Ababa (1,000 sq meters) through mpox emergency response funding. Core pillar of Africa CDC's Supply Chain Framework.
• World Food ProgrammecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Uganda agribusiness program helping micro-entrepreneurs build digital footprints and access formal financial services. Target of 20,000 entrepreneurs by November 2026.
• UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partner in Uganda agribusiness program for micro-entrepreneurs including women, youth, and refugees.
• MEST AfricacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital Marketing Training program partnership delivering 12-week training in Ghana with Generation Ghana and Mastercard Foundation support.
• Arizona State University (ASU)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPhase 2 of Scholars Program e-Learning Initiative (2025-2029) expanding digital transformation support to 10 universities across 8 countries. University Design Institute leads implementation.
• Université Numérique Cheikh Hamidou Kane (UN-CHK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Force-N Sénégal computer distribution campaign for 1,000 students and digital skills training for delivery drivers.
• Africa CDC (Saving Lives and Livelihoods)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to strengthen pharmacovigilance capacity and health system resilience across Somalia and Djibouti as part of Saving Lives and Livelihoods programme.
• FAWE GhanacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Gender Responsive Pedagogy training for TVET tutors to promote gender inclusivity in education.
• World BankcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funder of Youth-RISE adaptive learning pilot in Côte d'Ivoire across 25 TVET institutions covering 1,529 learners.
• Agri-Impact LimitedcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganizer of Ghana poultry sector transformation forum under HAPPY project, with over 4.3 million birds raised and 8,000 young people employed.
• AGRAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-host of session on Youth Entrepreneurship and Agrifood Systems at Africa Food Systems Forum 2025.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation: The world's largest private foundation, focused on global health, education, and poverty reduction. Directly comparable as a mega-scale grantmaking institution with multi-billion-dollar annual budgets and education-and-development strategy across Africa and globally.
• Open Society Foundations: Large global grantmaking foundation with significant Africa and education portfolios. Comparable as a high-asset private foundation operating across multiple continents with advocacy-and-inclusion program themes.
• Wellcome Trust: The UK's largest charitable foundation, with global health and education programs. Comparable as a multi-billion-dollar charitable institution with long-term program horizons and Africa-facing initiatives.

Direct peers

• Ford Foundation: One of the largest US private foundations, with deep investments in education, social justice, and global development including Africa. Comparable in scale, geographic breadth, and grantmaking orientation toward education and economic inclusion.
• Rockefeller Foundation: Major US private foundation with global development and health-security programs including Africa operations. Comparable in multi-billion-dollar scale, focus on education/health systems, and use of strategic program partnerships.
• Bloomberg Philanthropies: Major philanthropic vehicle focused on education, public health, and economic development globally. Comparable in scale, education-and-workforce strategy emphasis, and co-creation with implementing partners.
• Carnegie Corporation of New York: Education-focused private foundation with significant programming for African higher education and youth development. Closely comparable in education-grantmaking mission and African scholar-development portfolio.
• MacArthur Foundation: Large US private foundation supporting inclusive economies, education, and global development. Comparable in endowment scale, education-and-economic-inclusion focus, and Africa portfolio.
• Visa Foundation: Corporate-founded philanthropic foundation from a global payments company, focused on financial inclusion and small-business support. Comparable as a corporate-spawned independent grantmaking entity supporting economic inclusion, though at smaller scale.

Regional players

• Dubai Cares: UAE-based philanthropic foundation focused on universal primary education and youth development in developing countries, including sub-Saharan Africa. Comparable in education-grantmaking focus, youth-development programs, and Africa program footprint, though with a different donor geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MCFoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/TheMasterCardFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-mastercard-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments50 records

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Frequently asked questions about The MasterCard Foundation